Los Angeles singer/songwriter and guitarist
Neal Morse began his musical career early, taking piano lessons at five and performing in musicals and beginning guitar by the age of nine. By the time he reached his twenties,
Morse wrote two musicals and played with
Al Stewart and
Peter White. After returning from an extensive European trip,
Morse formed the progressive rock band
Spock's Beard with his brother
Al; the group released its debut album,
The Light, in 1994. In addition to his duties with
Spock's Beard,
Morse released his self-titled solo debut 1999 on Metal Blade Records, and produced and arranged all of the album's tracks. With 2003's
Testimony,
Morse began to infuse his deeply held religious convictions into his work, a trend that continued with 2004's
One and 2005's
?. In 2006 he collaborated with
Dream Theater drummer
Mike Portnoy and bassist
Randy George on
Cover to Cover, yes, a covers collection.
Morse resumed that collaboration in 2007 on his highly controversial concept album
Sola Scriptura. In 2011,
Morse returned to the story he started in 2003 with Testimony Two, which further detailed his spiritual awakening as well as his decision to leave
Spock's Beard.
–
Heather Phares & Thom Jurek, Rovi